1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates generally to computer networks and more particularly to methods and apparatus for providing a scalable distributed Internet commerce system.
2. Description of the Related Art.
Another U.S. Pat. Application dealing with related technology has been filed on even date herewith. That application is entitled "A Method and Apparatus for Creating a Distributed Electronic Commerce System" by Victor S. Moore and Glen R. Walters and is assigned to International Business Machines ("IBM") with an IBM reference number of BC9-98-031 (referred to hereinafter as the "Distributed Commerce System Patent").
The World-Wide-Web ("Web") has become immensely popular largely because of the ease of finding information and the user-friendliness of today's browsers. A feature known as hypertext allows a user to access information from one Web page to another by simply pointing (using a pointing device such as a mouse) at the hypertext and clicking. Another feature that makes the Web attractive is having the ability to process the information (or content) in remote Web pages without the requirement of having a specialized application program for each kind of content accessed. Thus, the same content is viewed across different platforms. Browser technology has evolved to enable the running of applications that manipulate this content across platforms.
The Web relies on an application protocol called HTML (Hyper-Text Mark Up Language), which is an interpretative scripting language, for rendering text, graphics, images, audio, real-time video, and other types of content on a Web compliant browser. HTML is independent of client operating systems. Therefore, HTML renders the same content across a wide variety of software and hardware operating platforms. The software platforms include without limitation Windows 3.1, Windows NT, Apple's Copeland and Macintosh, and IBM's AIX and OS/2, and HP Unix. Popular compliant Web-Browsers include without limitation Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Lynx, and Mosaic. HTML interprets links to files, images, sound clips, and other types of content through the use of hypertext links. Upon user invocation of a hypertext link to a Web page, the browser initiates a network request to receive the desired Web page.
The use of electronic commerce on the Web is growing. A variety of traditional larger retailers and larger mail order catalog companies have been offering their goods for sale electronically over the Web. Everything from the actual shopping to the determination of available inventory and the acceptance of payment is accomplished electronically. The merchant's Web site or Web storefront handles all shopping, selection, and acceptance of payment transactions automatically. Unlike traditional storefronts, these automatic capabilities enable a merchant to have its goods offered for sale twenty four hours a day, every day of the year (for an example of a traditional catalog company with its goods available via the Web refer to L.L. BEAN of Freeport, Maine, whose URL is www.llbean.com). But the ability to host retail merchandise on the Web is not without difficulties.
It is difficult to integrate the major functions of electronic Web commerce. Three functions, in particular, are typically integrated in a retail Web site. The first function is the virtual presentation, using text, graphics, or otherwise, of a merchant's products to customers. This is sometimes called the "electronic storefront" or "Web storefront," or in the case of a catalog merchant, the "electronic catalog." The second function is the maintenance of inventory, stock, pricing, and availability of each product, as well as tracking sales and revenues. The third function is performing the electronic transactions for payment in a secure environment, where the collection of a customer's payment information, such as a credit card, is performed. Typically, most electronic commerce sites integrate all three of these functions at one physical site.
Companies desiring to do business over the Web face many problems. A first problem is the expense and complexity of setting up the necessary elements of an electronic commerce server. This difficulty includes: (1) hosting of the Web storefront; (2) maintenance of an inventory and financial database; and (3) the roll out of a secured Transaction Server. The initial up-front cost is a significant barrier for most small businesses desiring to gain a presence on the Web. Therefore, a need exists to lower or even to eliminate the high-cost barrier typically associated with setting up electronic commerce on the Web. The cost not only involves software design and implementation, and setting up the necessary equipment, but the initial hardware investment capable of running all three elements of an electronic commerce server for one business.
A second problem is meeting the requirement that the Web storefront or Web catalog be constantly up-to-date. Many businesses pay dedicated personnel to update, create, and modify their Web sites. The cost of the service to maintain a merchant's Web site can be significant. A need exists to provide a merchant with the capability of easily creating, modifying, and updating its own Web storefront.
A third problem is meeting the requirement that the Web storefront inventory and financial database must be maintained and updated. Sales, advertised specials, and other changes in pricing need to be reflected in the inventory database. For many smaller businesses the requirement to keep inventory and financial records electronically, not to mention the requirement to be electronically connected to their Web storefront, is too complex and too costly. Many smaller businesses use simple written ledgers or standalone software applications to control their inventories and finances. For merchants desiring to sell goods and services over the Internet, a need exists to be able to have their inventory and finances maintained in a scalable fashion. In this way, as the business grows, the merchant can migrate from a pencil and ledger, through a stand-alone electronic database, up to a fully connected and automated database.
A fourth problem is meeting the requirement to automatically accept secure, electronic forms of payments. The need to have encryption and clearance software, secure server hardware, and secure firewalls makes this requirement expensive. For merchants desiring to set up Web storefronts, a need exists to be able to scale electronic payments to meet their needs.
A fifth problem is achieving the ability to advertise to news groups and other Internet text-based users, as opposed to graphics-based users. Popular text-only viewers such as Lynx do not have graphical HTML capabilities. A need thus exists for merchants to be able to advertise anywhere and to process payment information even in text-only based electronic commerce.
As mentioned earlier, one of the concerns for a merchant desiring to do electronic commerce is the Web site development. In the case of a large company that wants to have all three functions integrated into one Web site, these costs can easily exceed $1 million. In addition, even though the programming will usually not be done by the merchant, the merchant will have to devote substantial amounts of time to the layout design and to the review. These costs, in time and money, are significant. Smaller companies may opt to create their own Web sites. This undertaking can be quite difficult, however, for the merchant who is not a sophisticated computer user. While it is relatively easy to create a Web site, without competent guidance the site may be poorly designed and therefore of little economic value. There is, therefore, a need for a development tool which simplifies the design, creation, and maintenance of a Web site for merchants.